The second generation Internet called Web 2.0 is defined as all websites whose content may be created by website users. Until now, in order to have a place on the web, you had to buy a server, a domain, which cost a lot and required knowledge of the basics of the WWW language (HTML, Java Script, PHP).
When Web 2.0 became popular, guest books began to appear on the pages, thanks to which Internet visitors could talk to the author of the page. When you ran a website, e.g. for your class in high school, it was usually pure HTML. There was no possibility of interaction – adding entries by others or the possibility of commenting. Now it’s hard to imagine that you cannot comment on something on the web. Web 2.0 has educated us and prepared to comment on everything we see.
Web 2.0 became famous in 2004, when websites began to appear that offered their users their own place on the web. We could set up our profile, add a photo, chat and meet other users, create a contact list, send private messages and keep in touch (e.g. fotka.pl)
Web 2.0 and users’ habits
Zbigniew Domaszewicz in the article Web 2.0 is a revolution on the Internet? writes that “Web 2.0 is not only about changes in websites – the habits of Internet users are also changing, who are more and more willing to go beyond the role of passive news consumers. They look for alternative sources of information or try to provide it themselves. They publish, comment and interact with others. When making decisions, they tend to rely on the collective opinion of Internet users other than professional experts. ”
Now users were to become “mini-administrators” and deliver content to the website previously prepared by the creators. The content includes not only text, photos, videos, and hyperlinks, but also other users who will create communities. Łukasz Bigo in the text of Web 2.0 – evolution, revolution or … anarchy ?! believes that “Transitioning” to Web 2.0 is not about revolutionizing new technology. “Web 2.0” is the name of the trend we were witnessing few years ago. The process is actually a renaissance, a return to the classic sources of the original web and, of course, the Internet. It is about propagating the idea of shared responsibility for content, about sharing knowledge. With Web 2.0 the era of “owners” is over, now everyone has their own molecule, the plot they work on. The end in itself is no longer to be better than others, the goal is to be better together. A failure of one computer does not destroy Web 2.0 resources in any way – they can be recreated very quickly on the basis of materials stored on other machines ”
The user is the administrator of his content
In Web 2.0, the user decides what he wants to see on the website, he can choose the layout, subscribe to RSS feeds, publish his articles, all in a simplified interface. The role of Internet diaries is also growing. Leszek Olszański, in his book Internet Journalism, writes: “The world learned about the great possibilities offered by simple online mechanisms for publishing articles only after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. In the first days after the terrorist attack on the center of New York, information published by independent professional media was of great help in bringing the panic-stricken city under control. ”
So where does the popularity of articles, usually of poor quality, come from? (made by ordinary people with amateur equipment, without experience and professional knowledge) First of all, journalists, photojournalists, etc. cannot be everywhere, let alone predict where something interesting is about to happen. Thanks to technological progress, almost every mobile phone is equipped with a digital camera, and such photos often flood the front pages of newspapers, and films made with such equipment are published in the news. Leszek Olszański writes: “The blog Where is Raed? written by a young resident of Baghdad hiding under the pseudonym “Salam Pax”. Living in an inaccessible to Western journalists (the Iraqi authorities did not allow correspondents to leave the hotel in the city center), the war-torn state capital. In a colorful language, Salam presented the everyday life of the besieged metropolis, including people’s fear of American bombings. […] The blog brought many new things to the world of media. The author denied false information provided by both sides of the conflict, and above all he was a “man inside”, which the largest publishers could only dream of ”
Now that almost every website allows us to set up our own account, integrate with Facebook, etc., it’s worth finding out how it all started. The idea was simple – responsible Internet created by committed and independent creators. After a few years, can we say that what we see is responsible and thoughtful? Yes and no. About this in the next post.
This is an excerpt from my master’s thesis on the impact of the internet on the development of civic communities and editorial work, published in 2012.
